Hong Kong police arrest parents of 11-year-old girl filmed carrying dozens of beer cans

Hong Kong police have arrested the parents of an 11-year-old girl who was filmed carrying dozens of beer cans through Tuen Mun while her father stood by and berated her.

The 38-year-old man and his 32-year-old wife were detained on suspicion of “ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of a child or young person” – commonly known as child abuse – according to a police brief issued on Wednesday evening. The pair remain in custody pending further investigation.

The arrests came after a video circulated online from Tuesday showing a young girl struggling to carry two dozen beer cans in a pair of plastic carrier bags, as well as a damaged schoolbag. Passers-by offered to help her, but she declined, saying she was afraid her father would scold her.

The father later appeared with two other children. After being criticised by passers-by, he called the girl a “useless person” and took one of the bags from her.

Police said they received a report at about 10.30pm on Tuesday. A preliminary investigation found that the girl was “exercising” and had picked up the beer of her own accord.

But the case was reclassified as a request for police assistance the following afternoon, and was taken over by officers from the New Territories North Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which launched a probe and referred the case to the Social Welfare Department.

In response to local media, the Social Welfare Department said it had contacted the family and social workers would hold a multi-disciplinary meeting to assess the children’s needs and draw up a follow-up plan to provide appropriate assistance.

‘Motor skills training’

The girl’s parents told local news outlet HK01 in an interview before their arrest on Wednesday that the incident was a “misunderstanding” and they were not guilty of child abuse.

They claimed that the beer-carrying was an activity to train their daughter’s motor skills as the girl has a condition affecting physical coordination.

The girl said in the interview that her parents care about her and she struggles with carrying heavy objects. She said she first carried eight cans of beer and later 16 – when she was filmed on Tuesday, it was her first time attempting to carry 24 cans.

The interview also revealed that the couple have three children, and that the girl in the video was the woman’s daughter from a previous marriage.

All three children have special needs, the couple said, adding that there are insufficient services for children with special needs in Tuen Mun District.

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Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing.